OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Changes have been announced at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield as crews prepare to build a new six-story parking structure. Omaha television station WOWT reports that Eppley will close its surface and canopy lots on Thursday to prepare for the construction.

The new parking structure, which will hold 3,000 cars, was approved by the Omaha Airport Authority in December. The $66.5 million project is scheduled to begin in May and take about two years to complete.

During that time, rental car operations at the airport will be relocated to the canopy lot south of the terminal, which will be closed to public parking.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Police say a man accused of shooting a woman in front of his south Des Moines home told officers he had no choice after the woman broken into his home and tried to strangle him with a scarf. Police say officers were called to the house just before midnight Monday for a report of a fight. They found the 71-year-old homeowner, who told police he was in a bedroom with a gun when a woman wearing a headlamp broke in.

He says they fought, and she choked him with the scarf, so he “had no choice but to shoot her.” A woman later called police to say she had been shot several blocks away, but police determined she was the woman the homeowner had shot. She is expected to recover.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety report a man suspected in the alleged July 2016 sexual assault against a minor female in northwest Iowa, was arrested last week. The incident allegedly occurred at the residence of Eddie D. Delong, in Cleghorn.

The Cherokee County Sheriff’s office in conjunction with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation. On April 5th, 2017 the 43-year old Delong  was arrested and charged with felony Sex Abuse in the 3rd Degree and Supplying Alcohol to a Minor – Causing Serious Injury (An Aggravated Misdemeanor).

DeLong’s bond was set at $10,000. He has since posted bond and was released, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 17th at the Cherokee County Courthouse.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have released the names of five people killed in a fiery Mason City crash. Police in Mason City say an officer discovered the accident scene around 2:40 a.m. Monday after officials noticed that power had been knocked out to hundreds of customers. Officials say the accident apparently caused the short-lived outage.

Today (Tuesday) the Mason City Police Department identified the driver as 20-year-old Zachary Hartley. His four passengers were identified as 17-year-old Donte Foster, 18-year-old Roderick Lewis, 14-year-old Sydney Alcorn and 19-year-old Alex Wiebke. All of them lived in Mason City.

The crash cause is being investigated. Mason City sits about 109 miles (176 kilometers) north of Des Moines.

CHARLES CITY, Iowa (AP) – Officials of a city more than 50 miles northwest of Waterloo have asked residents to stay at least 100 yards away from a bridge that partially collapsed. Charles City police chief Hugh Anderson tells the Charles City Press there’s a possibility of falling debris near the Charley Western Bridge or that it could collapse completely.

An archway of the bridge on the Cedar River pulled away from the structure Saturday morning, and part of it collapsed. Charles City Administrator Steve Diers says the river is closed to activities.

Earlier this month, City Council voted in favor of an evaluation of both the Charley Western and the Main Street bridges. Charles City Engineer John Fallis says officials are examining how to move forward with the evaluation.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is reintroducing legislation that would ban packer ownership of livestock. Grassley, a Republican, says he’s seeing more consolidation and “vertical integration” in the livestock industry which will ultimately hurt farmers and consumers. “When four companies control 76% of all the slaughter, there’s not much competition,” Grassley says, “and particularly that competition is even lessened when farmers are up against these packers that own livestock and can butcher their own.”

In the past few decades, large poultry and pork packers have concentrated operations and Grassley says the beef industry is also showing signs of going the same direction.  “I want farmers to have as much competition as they can to get the highest price for the cattle,” Grassley says. “I think it’s compromised when cattle are owned by packers. They can manipulate the market easier. It shows up in lower prices for farmers.”

A report from the U-S-D-A says the amount of cattle traded on the cash market dropped from 52-percent in 2005 to 21-percent in 2015. Grassley says that trend shows how packers are gaining far too much power to control the marketplace. Grassley says, “You’ve heard me say, quoting some president of some company, ‘Why do we own livestock? Well, when prices are high, we kill our own. When prices are low, we buy from the farmer.'”

Grassley has offered packer ownership bans at least twice before in recent years and he’s hoping this Congress will be more receptive to his concerns.

(Radio Iowa)

A Public Hearing is set to take place in Atlantic Wednesday morning, with regard to funds for a certain aspect of the ethanol plant infrastructure project. The hearing, which will be held in the Supervisor’s Board Room at the Cass County Courthouse, beginning at 8:30-a.m., is “To consider a proposal to incur non-current debt in the form of an internal advance from the general Capital Projects Fund in an amount not to exceed $300,000 for the purpose of paying economic development related costs for public infrastructure improvements to portions of Echo, Buck Creek and Glacier Roads and a graywater pipeline from the City of Atlantic to the Elite Octane site incurred prior to the issuance of general obligation bonds in the last half of 2017.”

Afterward, the Board will vote on approving a Resolution to Incur Noncurrent Debt. The Supervisors will also act on approving a Supplemental Agreement (Between Cass County and Snyder & Associates Engineers) for Additional Services pertaining to the “Elite Octane” Road Paving Project, to include turning lanes on North Olive Street (South of FSC) at the intersection with Echo Road.

The Board will also hear reports from Cass County Sanitarian Mike Stringham (Guthrie County Health Dept.), and Micha Lee, with Cass County Conservation.

The Harlan Police Department has issued a brief report on arrests. Last Friday (April 7th), 49-year old Patsy Ann Maria Nuzum, of Harlan, was arrested following a call about a disturbance in the 2100 block of Lincoln Avenue.  Nuzum was transported to the Shelby County Jail where she was charged with Public Intoxication, and Disorderly Conduct.

Last Thursday, 39-year old Kari Jean Elizabeth Nordby, of Harlan, was arrested following a call about a possible intoxicated person in the 1000 block of Chatburn Avenue.  Nordby was transported to the Shelby County Jail where she was charged with Public Intoxication.

And on Wednesday, April 5th, 47-year old Tammy J. Zuniga, of Villisca, was arrested for Theft in the 4th degree, following an investigation.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Legislature has sent the governor a bill that would let police officers stop and ticket drivers who were texting while driving. The legislation approved Monday by the House would take effect July 1 if Gov. Terry Branstad were to sign it as expected. He’s already expressed support for tougher regulations. The Senate passed the measure last month.

The bill would allow officers to pull over drivers specifically for texting. It’s a secondary offense under current law, which means an officer must have another reason to make a traffic stop. Current law bars drivers from using cellphones or other hand-held communication devices to write, send or read text messages while driving. The bill would expand those rules to include use of social media, games and internet sites.

Police in Glenwood are asking for your help in finding a stolen vehicle. Authorities say a lavender 1996 Toyota Camry was taken from Glenwood Monday, sometime between 4-a.m. and 7:50-a.m.  The car has Iowa License plate DZX 531.  Anyone with information on the vehicle’s location, is asked to contact the Glenwood Police Dept. at 712-527-4844.

In other business, the Glenwood P-D reports 23-year old Rocky Runyon, of Glenwood, was arrested Monday on a Mills County warrant for Failure to Appear (in court) on a Possession of Marijuana/2nd offense, charge. His bond was set at $1,000.  And, on April 5th, 40-year old Travis Handley, of Glenwood, was arrested for possession of drug Paraphernalia, with bond set at $300 cash or surety.